Falcon Field in Mesa, Arizona [Credit: Shutterstock/Tim Roberts Photography]
Key Takeaways:
Mesa, Arizona, has approved a new $20 per landing fee at Falcon Field (KFFZ), effective May 1, with city officials projecting it will generate $2.6 million annually for airport operations.
Flight schools and businesses at KFFZ strongly oppose the fees, arguing they will significantly increase flight training costs, deter new pilots, and likely lead to business closures due to the high number of takeoffs and landings required for training.
Critics suggest the fees are a "blunt instrument" driven by neighborhood noise complaints rather than solely financial necessity, and were adopted without meaningful collaboration with affected aviation businesses.
The new policy is expected to create a financial barrier for pilot training, potentially exacerbating the current pilot shortage and negatively impacting the airport's role in workforce development.
On Tuesday the Mesa City Council voted to adopt landing fees at Falcon Field (KFFZ). According to city officials, the fees could bring in about $2.6 million a year that will be used to support airport operations.
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Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.
